9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Scots singing sensation Rianne Downey 'buzzing' for homecoming TRNSMT gig after 'unbelievable' journey
The folk and country singer will play the King Tut's stage on Sunday, July 13.
Scots songstress Rianne Downey credits TRNSMT for sending her on an 'unbelievable' journey which saw her rock the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
Describing the bucket list moment as the 'pinnacle' of her music career so far, the 25-year-old Bellshill musician told Lanarkshire Live her life has been a whirlwind ever since she shared the main stage at TRNSMT 2023 with Beautiful South icon Paul Heaton.
Rianne was uploading cover songs online through the Covid lockdown when her version of their hit song 'Rotterdam' was 'liked' by Paul who gave her some positive feedback.
Then three years later, out of the blue, she got a phone call from her manager to say Paul wanted her to sing with him for the summer.
'I had to run home and record some voice notes of the tunes then I got a phone call the next day to say 'we're going to try one gig for the summer'', said Rianne.
'That one gig turned into the full summer, singing on his album and playing the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury - and here we are now.
'Playing Glasto was the pinnacle moment of my career, I'll never forget that. I absolutely loved playing the Hydro with him too. Stepping out to 15,000 Glaswegians was definitely a buzz.'
The self-professed 'country folk fairy', has a strong Celtic connection which never fails to resonate with a Glasgow crowd.
Currently touring with The Beautiful South star after recording on his latest album 'The Mighty Several' together, Rianne is also lending support to Texas on their UK summer tour and returning to Glastonbury this week for a solo acoustic set.
She added: 'It's been a whirlwind ever since that TRNSMT moment. Time has absolutely flown by and so many amazing things have happened.
'That gig was a proper monumental moment in my life. Since then I've sang and recorded on Paul's album, which got to number 2 in the charts, and through that we played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury last year which was an absolute dream come true.
'That's a proper bucket list for so many musicians. It's been unbelieveable and things have just been flying since then.
'We got to play my hometown of Glasgow to a sold out Hydro crowd - which was again a bucket list moment.
'It's been so lovely because after that loads of people bought into me and wanted to hear my voice singing my own songs as well as Paul's.'
The singer-songwriter, who now lives in Liverpool, has kickstarted her debut album campaign and will be treating the TRNSMT crowd to songs from the soon to be released coming-of-age record 'The Consequence of Love' when she plays the King Tut's stage on Sunday, July 13.
Rianne revealed she will also have a couple of Paul Heaton songs up her sleeve along with a rousing Scottish anthem.
This will be Rianne's first solo performance since her debut slot as an emerging artist at TRNSMT in 2022.
This year's headliners include 50 Cent, Biffy Clyro, Underworld and Snow Patrol.
'This year I'm playing TRNSMT on my own which is lovely', she continued.
'It'll be great to play the King Tut's stage on the Sunday afternoon, it just feels like the perfect slot.
'King Tut's was the first gig I ever put on and it sold out in two days. I remember just being so buzzing, so grateful. And now I'm getting to play the King Tut's stage at TRNSMT so it just feels like an amazing journey, a big jump up.
'Glasgow has always been so supportive of me. It's been a while since I last played solo so TRNSMT is definitely a brilliant homecoming.
She added: 'I feel like it would only be right to play a couple of Paul songs. And I think I'll sing Caledonia - everybody will be waiting on that one from me. We're a very patriotic city so it's lovely that people want to hear Caledonia, but also want to hear my tunes as well.
'My band's amazing, it feels like we're all in great shape and I'm just so excited to show everybody my music that I've been working on - songs old and new.
'The name of the album is 'The Consequence of Love'. Every song on the album is a love song, or is born out of love. From relationships and family to heartache - it explores all the pathways that love takes you on. It's a country, folk, coming-of-age album with lots of catchy, sunny tunes in there.
'I guess it's about my journey to where I am now and the fragility of life and love.'
Rianne says she hopes to catch American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams while she's at the festival but needs to get back on the road soon after for the rest of their summer tour.
She said: 'It's a short and sweet visit as I need to get back for rehearsals with Paul - it's pretty nonstop at the moment.
'I'm on my way to Glastonbury just now. It'll definitely be more chilled this year, I'm just playing an acoustic set so it feels like my time to celebrate last year as it was just so surreal.
'I just love performing and always want to give the best performance that I can to the people in the crowd, because that's what they're there for and they're the reason that I'm getting to play.'
Following her album release, Rianne is heading on a UK-wide album tour which finishes on home soil at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on December 6.
'The Consequence of Love' is now available to pre-order from and will be released on all major download sites on October 17.
Tickets for the album tour are on sale now.
